We are family….I got all my REALTORS with me!
Recently there have been several events within the real estate community both nationally and locally that have made me exceedingly aware how lucky I am to be part of this amazing community.
Let me start first with the story of my very good friend Clint Miller.
I’ve written already about Clint’s sudden experience with cancer and how it impacted our community and me in particular.
Clint’s story begins years ago when social media was new and he reached out to the real estate community because of his business with Real Estate Client Referrals.
But it goes so much farther than that.
Clint helps to create and foster and nurture a community where real estate professionals from around the world could converse, share and encourage one another. The recent events gave me a realization.
Real estate agents are much like siblings. We may scrap at each other and have our differences and sometimes even full-blown fights break out, however, if someone from outside of the community steps in and ridicules us, threatens us or tries to put us down then we band together any force that is to be reckoned with.
Which brings me to my thoughts on what’s happening to my social media friend Daniel Rothamel.
Known as the Real Estate Zebra, Daniel has been a leader in the real estate space and is an agent that I have watched and learned from for years. He has recently been hit with a lawsuit regarding his use of the real estate zebra by a group called The Lones Group.
The Lones Group states that Daniel’s use of the real estate zebra and his blogging confuses consumers because of their use of a zebra theme. This may or may not be true but what blows my mind is that The Lones Group target audience is REALTORS. Daniels friends are REALTORS. It gives one pause…
More important than whether the zebra sign is something that you can trademark and whether Denise Lones has a case or not is the issue of thinking about your target audience. It’s my opinion that they have made a serious error. This opinion is shared by many real estate professionals. But we REALTORS bonded together. My friend Jay Thompson created a defense fund for us to help Daniel with the costs of defending himself. Someone created a #savethezebra tag on Twitter. Many people adopted Zebras as their avatars. Now whether The Lones Group wins their case or not it stands to be considered that they’ve lost already.
I put a comment on a blog on the topic telling the leader of this case that I thought what she was doing was making her seem self absorbed, stubborn, and even a little bit silly. But what is not silly is the power of the real estate community standing behind Daniel. I am proud to number in that crowd.
Another recent experience that I’ve had that was much more local than the previous two is the case of my friend Tom Skrodzki.
Tom’s house unfortunately burned down several weeks ago. His wife (who is pregnant) and their seven children have been misplaced for weeks.
Another real estate friend Heather, reached out to me the day that the fire happened and asked me to help her get the word out that Tom and his family needed some help. Since that time there has been a huge outpouring of help from the real estate community in my area. People have brought clothing toys gift certificates cash sympathy and concern to this family in need.
Another REALTOR, Michael, has never met Tom in person but organized a fund-raising drive for his office and they will be presenting a donation to the family to help defray their expenses. Truck loads of donations have been dropped off at Park Square Realty for this family. This kind of support for a fellow real estate professional and neighboring in the community makes me sincerely proud and grateful to live in western Massachusetts.
So my hope is this:
May Clint recover from this awful episode even stronger than he already is. You have to talk to this guy yourself to really get the picture of the influence he wields. He is a wonder and I am blessed that he is a friend. I pray daily for your speedy recovery, Clint.
May Daniel get to the end of this mess without too much hassle. I don’t want to be a social media glommer and add to the morass of people claiming to be Daniel’s BFF. I know Daniel. Daniel is a nice guy. This is a stupid lawsuit and I hope it is over soon.
May the Skrodzki family recover from their tragic loss sooner than later. They already know how blessed they are to have each other. I am so glad to know them.
So thank you, my real estate siblings and community..You done me proud.
